Empress Elisabeth of Austria „Sissi“ in Geneva

Yesterday I spent a day in Geneva. On my way along the lake promenade, I briefly stopped at a point marked with a bronze plaque commemorating an incident that shook the world exactly 120 years ago.

At the end of August 1898, the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, traveled incognito to Lake Geneva. A few days later, on September 10, 1898, „Sissi“, the Empress of Austria was dead. What happened?On September 10, 1898 at about 13:30, Sissi left the hotel Beau-Rivage to get to the paddle steamer “Genève”, with which she wanted to travel to Caux near Montreux.

Place in Geneva where Empress Elisabeth of Austria was assassinated

Accompanied by her lady-in-waiting, she walked along the lakeside promenade to the boat landing stage at Quai du Mont Blanc. On the way, she was abruptly attacked by an Italian anarchist. Luigi Lucheni suddenly jumped on her and rammed a pointed stiletto-shaped file into her heart. Sissi fell to the ground, but could get up with the help of hurrying passers-by. She complained of a pain in her chest and initially believed that the attacker only punched her hard. Sissi and her companion boarded the paddle steamer where she collapsed a few minutes later. The steamer immediately stopped and returned to the boat landing stage from where they took her, on a makeshift carry, back to the hotel. All revival attempts were in vain; at 14:40, Sissi was declared dead.